Posts Tagged by mushrooms
Mushroom and Herb Polenta
| May 15, 2013 | Filled under Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Vegetables |
We’ve been eating vegetarian a few times a week and I’ve been experimenting with satisfying, simple, meatless meals. I’m not a vegetarian by any means, but I enjoy eating meatless meals quite often, especially when those vegetarian meals are cheesy, herb-filled comfort meals like this mushroom and herb polenta.
This recipe is adapted from ‘Plenty‘ by Yotam Ottolenghi. Famous for his famous London food shop ‘Ottolenghi’, he became renowned for his innovative vegetarian offerings. This cookbook is full of ‘vibrant vegetable recipes ‘ that are globally inspired and full of flavour. The recipes are accessible and easy to follow with interesting stories about his inspirations and beautiful photography for each recipe. It’s one of my favourites in my vast cookbook collection.
Mushrooms are so satisfying and the perfect meat substitute. You can use any mushrooms you like, and play around with the herb combinations too. I’ve used basil and parsley before, and played around with the proportions of the herbs. The options are limitless. Taleggio melts so amazingly and has a rich, salty flavour so perfect in this dish. Because Taleggio can be quite salty, it’s a good idea to add salt sparingly to the polenta.
I love that this dish is elegant enough to serve as a vegetarian main course for guests yet simple enough for a weeknight meal – perfect vegetarian eating that’s decadent and delicious.
1. Add half olive oil and half the mushrooms to pan
2. Fry a few minutes until just browned – don’t stir too much
3. Slowly add 1/2 cup of polenta to simmering vegetable stock
4. Add garlic, rosemary, butter, Parmesan, salt and pepper to polenta and stir
5. Spread polenta in oven-ready dish
6. Top polenta with mushroom herb mixture
7. Top mushrooms with Taleggoio and place in broiler
8. Done when cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve hot.
Mushroom and Herb Polenta (adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi)
Ingredients:
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 cups mixed mushrooms, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp chopped tarragon
- 1 Tbsp chopped thyme
- 1 Tbsp truffle oil
- 2 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup instant polenta
- 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
- 3 oz Taleggio cheese (rind removed), cut into 3/8” slices
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Pre-heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half olive oil and half the mushrooms to pan, and fry for a few minutes until just cooked, about 5 to 6 minutes. Don’t stir too much to get more golden brown bits. Remove mushrooms from pan and place in a bowl and set aside. Repeat with remaining olive oil and mushrooms. Remove pan from heat and add first batch of mushrooms back to pan. Add two-thirds of the garlic, and all the tarragon, thyme, and truffle oil. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Bring vegetable stock to boil in a medium saucepan and reduce to simmer. Once simmering, slowly pour in polenta, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Cooking time will vary depending on brand; polenta is done when it leaves the sides but is still runny. Remove from heat.
- Preheat the broiler. Add Parmesan, butter, rosemary, and chives. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spread polenta in oven-ready dish and top with mushrooms. Top mushrooms with Taleggio and place under broiler for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve hot.
Mushroom Toasts
| November 20, 2012 | Filled under Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetables |
Have you ever been to Copenhagen? I was there on vacation this summer and loved the entire experience in the design-savvy chilled-out happiest city on earth. A few fun factoids that I learned while I was there:
1) People from Denmark are Danish, not Dutch, and generally speaking are a beautiful bunch with fabulous cheekbones
2) Danish folks tend to go organic, ride bikes instead of driving cars, and enjoy Carlsberg beer. Also home of Lego, Vikings, and the Danish royal family.
3) Copenhagan has amazing food, including the world’s greatest restaurant Noma, new Nordic cuisine, hot dogs, open-faced sandwiches, and of course Danishes (the pastry)
……………………………………………..
……………………………………………..
I’ve been making mushroom toasts appetizers for years, originally created as a mushroom brushetta - they’re my go-to starter. If you’ve ever come to my house for dinner, I’ve probably served these to you. I happened to see something similar, a Danish version, on a few menus while on my trip. These open-faced sandwiches are called ‘smorrebrod’, Danish for ‘butter’ and ’bread’, and can be found in all kinds of variations. With generous amounts of butter and served atop rye toast, these beautiful savoury sandwiches were a staple on many menus in Copenhagen, usually topped with fried fish, roast beef, eggs, shrimps, deli meat, and/or cheese. I took lots of pictures of smorrebrod in Copenhagen and other delicious eats. And yes, I take lots of pictures of food when I travel. I’m totally THAT person in a restaurant.
……………………………………………..
My take is a bit healthier, where the mushrooms are lightly coated in olive oil instead of butter and cheese toppings are optional too (I usually opt for goat or brie). A little truffle oil drizzled on top really takes the flavour to the next level and of course, gluten-free bread is great substitution for rye bread. Perfect for entertaining or bringing a little bit of Scandinavia to your home.
Recipe Mushroom Toasts (Serves 4 to 6 as appetizer)
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces cremini or white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbs fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- Salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 gluten-free baguette, cut into 3/4″ slices or 6 slices gluten-free bread, cut diagonally
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 3 Tbs olive oil or melted vegan butter
- 12 slices brie cheese or 3 ounces goat cheese
- Truffle oil (optional)
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine mushrooms, parsley and 2 tablespoons olive oil until mushrooms are evenly coated with oil.
- Combine garlic and remaining olive oil in a small bowl. Add one teaspoon of garlic oil mixture to slice of bread to coat. Layer mushroom slices on toasts, so all pieces have equal amounts of mushrooms. Top mushrooms with cheese.
- Place toasts on baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. To serve, drizzle toasts with a few drops of truffle oil if using.
…………………………………………….. 
Golden Curry
| September 10, 2012 | Filled under Asian, Indian, Main Dishes, Poultry |
How do you get through dinners through the work week? Takeout? Frozen TV dinners? Meals from scratch? I tend to rely on all of the above since I’m not a huge fan of leftovers (exception is yam mein and pizza). Hubby D likes making a big batch Sunday night meal and reheating leftovers during the week, which admittedly cuts down on clean up and cooking. So with that game plan in place, it’s essential to get find meals that taste great as leftovers, and fast and easy curry is the perfect meal.
Some people think of curry as ‘spicy’ with burn-your-face-off type of heat rather than ‘full of flavour and aromatics’. There are so many curries in the world, spices and stews, and every region, culture, and family has their own unique way of preparing it. My family is from India and Pakistan, so our flavours and heat levels are a derrative of those spice-and-heat loving cultures. My mom makes a hearty and healthy vegetable curry with cauliflower, potato, and carrots while my aunts are known for their in-your- face spicy beef curry. As for me, I like to make Thai curries at home by my new fave is this golden curry that is mild yet full of flavour.
This curry is super easy to whip up and gets better as you re-heat it during the week. You can also freeze it and whip it out whenever you feel like some savoury comfort food. An added benefit of this dish is how cost-effective it is. Living gluten-free can rack up a serious grocery bill so finding healthy meals that don’t cost a fortune is a good way to balance the budget. Serve with some basmati rice and enjoy on a Sunday and all through the week.
Golden Curry Recipe (serves 4 to 6)
- 12 chicken thighs, diced
- 2 cups diced onions
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 3 Tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 teaspoons curry powder (I used 1 tsp hot Balinese curry powder and 3 tsp regular curry powder)
- 4 teaspoons fresh coriander/cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Heat large cast iron pot or deep sided frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil and chicken and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine.
- Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine. Add carrots and potatoes and curry powder and stir until all ingredients are evenly coated with curry seasoning.
- Add chicken stock and stir, scraping up any brown bits stuck to bottom of pot. Lower heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or bread.
Fast Flatbread Pizza
| April 19, 2012 | Filled under Italian, Main Dishes, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Snacks & Appetizers, Soup & Sandwiches |
Everyone loves pizza. It’s the ultimate comfort food and I dream about the amazing pizzas of my gluten-eating past. Specifically, Neapolitan pizza with its thin, slightly charred crust, San Marzano tomatoes and cheesey topping, these pizzas are a fond yet distant memory.
Here’s a homemade flatbread pizza that’s gluten-free, fast, and delicious. The uber-thin crust is nice and crispy and pretty light in calories, yet once loaded up with your favourite toppings, it totally satisfies the pizza craving. So next time you’re at the grocery store, forget those expensive frozen gluten-free pizza crusts and look for these tortillas (sometimes in the frozen health food aisle), which are also perfect for making wraps and crackers. While it’s no Neapolitan pizza, this flatbread can be made at home in a toaster oven. I used to be a line cook at my university pub where we would make a gazillion pita bread/garlic butter/shredded cheese appetizers that inpired my gluten-free version - just one of the many useful things I learned during my quest for a higher education.
I’m not even sure you call this a ‘recipe’ but you take a brown rice tortilla from Food for Life, add your favourite toppings, and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden brown. Slice and serve.
The pizza in this post was made with garlic butter, sliced mushrooms, and goat mozzarella and garnished with fresh arugula, basil, chili flakes and truffle oil. All of my fave ingredients and perfect with a bowl of tomato soup or a fresh salad.
Inside-Out Stuffing and Simple Roast Chicken
| April 11, 2012 | Filled under Main Dishes, Meat, Pasta, Rice, & Grains, Poultry, Sides, Vegetables |
Happy Anniversary to me! It’s been one year since the launch of freshnessgf.com and I’m so delighted with the end result – an online food journal full of recipes, stories, and photos. Honestly, my biggest thrill is when people tell me that they a) checked out my site b) tried a recipe and/or c) shared the site with their friends. It’s so totally humbling and gratifying that I fist pump every time.
In honour of this milestone, I thought I’d share one of my fave celebration recipes, stuffing with roast chicken. Notice that the stuffing is the main event here and the chicken, although delicious, is an accompaniment to its carb-tastic counterpart. My aunts make the most amazing stuffing, something our family gets to devour only three holidays a year – Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas. They also make the most moist, juicy turkey known to man and their holiday spreads are legendary for requiring a big appetite and some stretchy pants (this past Easter, there were no less than 20 separate dishes being served up – scroll to the end to see).
Since going gluten-free, I’ve had to give up on my aunt’s savoury stuffing but craving that distinct delicious comfort food, I ended up creating my own version. Now typically stuffing gets stuffed inside the cavity of a turkey, which is great for feeding large crowds lots of turkey and not so much stuffing. However, my version involves a lot of stuffing and a single chicken for roasting. The chicken is enough to feed three or four, but I make enough stuffing to feed quite an army. You can totally modify the recipe to make half the amount, but be warned, you’ll wish you had more leftover stuffing afterwards.
So the way to get all that stuffing is to layer the prepared stuffing underneath the chicken which gets roasted on top. So it’s inside out stuffing. I got the idea from Martha Stewart – to see a picture of the finished chicken and stuffing click here. I always make this when company is over and I keep forgetting to photograph it before I slice and serve. What makes this stuffing superior to traditional stuffing is how some parts get nicely crispy and browned, while other parts get squishy and moist from the juices of the chicken. Is your mouth-watering yet? Mine is just thinking about it.
One trick I picked up from my aunts is to make sure to use lots of onions. In my version, I use a combo of white onions, leeks, and garlic. Also, I use chicken sausage instead of pork, and I pick different flavours depending on the palettes of my guests. Heat loving friends got spicy Italian while D’s family got a milder honey garlic version. Either way, you can’t really go wrong.
This recipe takes longer than most of my other posts, but it’s still easy to whip up. Just saute the sausage and veggies, add the bread crumbs and stock, plop the chicken on top and stick it in the oven. While it’s roasting away, the aroma fills the house with the smell of a celebration, and in my case, it usually involves a glass of wine or bubbly.
Thanks again to all my lovely readers for your kind words and continued support. xoxoxo V
Inside-Out Stuffing and Simple Roast Chicken (Serves three to four with leftovers)
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
For the Stuffing
- 1 lb uncooked sausage, casings removed (about 4) – (Italian, chorizo, honey garlic all great)
- 2 cups sliced leeks, white part only
- 2 cup diced onion (about 2 medium or 1 large)
- 1 cup diced celery
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 to 1 ½ cup chicken stock
- 10 cups day old, gluten-free bread cut into 1” cubes
- ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- Fresh ground pepper
For the chicken:
- 1 roasting chicken, about 4 lbs
- 1 lemon, cut into quarters
- 6 cloves garlic
- 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Special Equipment: Large Dutch oven, roasting pan, or large deep oven-proof skillet
Directions:
- Make stuffing. Heat pan over medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of canola oil. Add sausage meat and sauté, mixing and breaking up pieces with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook until slightly browned and cooked through. Remove sausage meat with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the pan and add leeks, onion, and celery. Saute for 2 minutes, or until ingredients start to soften. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and scrape brown bits off bottom of the pan. Remove from heat. Add cooked sausage meat, parsley, dried herbs, pepper and bread to mixture. Stir well to combine – each cube of bread should be moistened by stuffing mixture (add more stock if it looks too dry). Set aside.
- Prepare chicken. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of stuffing and tuck the wings underneath. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Pat the chicken dry with paper towel. Rub skin with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Stuff inside cavity of chicken with lemon, garlic, and rosemary.
- Roast for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan and continue to roast for another 30 minutes. Chicken is done when meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 degrees. Remove chicken from pan and loosely cover with foil for 10 minutes to rest before carving and serving. Meanwhile, remove stuffing from pan into serving bowl.
Count the 20 items at my family's Easter dinner spread. My family rules. Outsiders drool.
Mushroom Soup
| April 2, 2012 | Filled under Snacks & Appetizers, Soup & Sandwiches, Vegetables |
As a brat kid, my favourite soup wasn’t any of the amazing homemade Chinese soups my mom made from scratch every night. Not the cream of corn or egg drop, or the other dozen or so in the rotation. Nope, none of those could top my true love for canned cream of mushroom soup – I would beg my mom to buy those iconic red and white cans. I still remember the congealed blob slithering itself out of the can and the distinctive ‘plop’ sound it made as it hit the pot. In hindsight, I’m pretty grossed out by the entire process, especially the hardcore whisking involved to avoid the coagulated soup chunks in an otherwise creamy soup.
I also recall digging around my bowl for a chunk of mushroom floating around the creamy white broth - there were so few in that can of soup that it was like a treasure hunt. But those days are over. I discovered this un-creamy version at Oliver & Bonacini and it was so tasty that I couldn’t believe there wasn’t any cream in it. It changed my entire perception of what mushroom soup could be. Instead of scouring the bowl for remnants of mushroom, each mouthful of O&B’s soup was filled with mushroom-y goodness. This recipe is one of their most well-known and loved permanent menu items and I’ve adjusted the recipe a bit to amp up the flavour profile.
I hope you enjoy this more than its canned counterpart, maybe with a drizzle of truffle oil, some fresh basil leaves, and while you’re at it, throw in a grilled cheese sandwich for a completely satisfying meal that doesn’t require a can opener (or a whisk).
Mushroom Soup Adapted from Three Chefs: The Kitchen Men
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups diced mushrooms (preferably a mix but all of one kind works too)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
- 4 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 soup bouillon cube (vegetable or chicken)
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- Fresh basil leaves and truffle oil to garnish
Directions:
Heat a pot over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, allowing the onions to sweat and brown slightly. Add mushrooms and dried basil leaves and stir to combine, continue to stir for another 5 minutes. Add water and bay leaf, bring to boil, and add bullion cube. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook uncovered for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
Using a blender or immersion blender, blend half the soup and pulse until ingredients are still a little chunky. Add remaining soup ingredients and blend again (Note: blending this way gives the mushrooms different textures – for a finder soup, pure until completely smooth). Serve immediately with fresh basil leaves and drizzle of truffle oil if using.
Potato Crusted Quiche
| October 4, 2011 | Filled under Breakfast, Main Dishes, Snacks & Appetizers |
One of my earliest posts was about having an elegant and delicious go-to recipe that would wow your guests without stressing you out. I also believe that this applies to brunch – having a couple of recipes up your sleeve to make your guests feel honoured and that you can do bleary-eyed. I love brunch for so many reasons – the food, the drinks (we do hard liquor and bubbly and coffee/tea), the lively conversations, and being able to relax without the bustle of waiting for a table/coffee refills/ketchup etc.
Normally a quiche has a pastry crust that’s both gluten and fat filled. You could always go crustless but for me, the crust is the best part so I thought I’d swap pastry for a potato. This recipe is adapted from one I found online here and the potato is actually way less fattening than traditional pastry but no less satisfying. It’s basically hash browns and eggs all in one dish – the perfect brunch combo, like juice and champagne.
I also use soy milk instead of cream which helps cut a few calories and great for lactose intolerant folks. I find if the fillings are tasty enough, dairy eaters don’t notice. To prep the potatoes, I recommend a food processor to grate the potatoes and wringing them in a clean kitchen towel. Just lay the towel on a surface, dump the shredded potatoes in the middle, gather the four corners of the cloth and lift up. You have a sac like situation and you just twist the bottom of the sac while holding to the for corners until you’re squeezing the liquid out of the potatoes.
I’ve made various versions of this recipe and served it both at brunch and dinner. When making this for smaller groups (I.e. four or less), I use a long tart pan. But I find the best way to feed a crowd is to use muffin tins – you can do a variety of fillings and these are the perfect size to sample a few. I did a mushroom and spinach version as well as a broccoli and cheddar. I’ve also done caramelized onion and goat cheese in the past which is uber yum but more dinner time for some reason. It’s great to be creative and experiment with different fillings – I’m always inspired by restaurant brunch menus and my next batch of quiche will be chorizo and goat cheese like the omelet at The School in Liberty Village.
Recipe Potato Crusted Quiche (Makes 12 individual muffin sized portions)
Adapted from Food Network’s Cook Yourself Thin
***Double the crust and egg mixture quantities if doing both fillings***
Crust:
- 2 to 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, shredded
- 1 tsp olive oil
- pinch salt
Egg Mixture:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk or cream ( I use plain soy)
- pinch salt and pepper
- Spray oil or canola oil for greasing pan
Mushroom and Spinach Filling:
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 cup mushrooms, finely sliced
- 1 cup baby spinach, washed and dried
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzerella (I use goat cheese)
Broccoli and Cheddar Filling:
- 3/4 cup broccoli florets, cut into tiny pieces (no stems)
- 1/2 cup medium to strong cheddar (I use goat cheese)
Special Equipment: 12 cup muffin pan (one pan if making one variety, 2 pans if making both varieties)
Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat muffin tins with spray oil or grease the pans. Place potatoes in the middle of a clean dish towel and gather the corners of the cloth together. Wring the excess liquid from the potatoes in the towel. In a medium mixing bowl, toss potatoes with olive oil and salt. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of the potato and press into the muffin tin to create a crust. Make sure to evenly cover the bottom and have the edges going up over the sides (it’s ok to go a bit higher the side because the potatoes shrink a bit). Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and dry. Let cool and lower oven heat to 350 degrees.
2. For mushroom and spinach filling: In a skillet, add oil on medium heat. Add onions until they start to sweat, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, let cook for about 6 to 8 minutes until mixture is dry, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach and stir until wilted, about 30 seconds. Let cool slightly.
3. Aseemble the quiche. For mushroom and spinach quiche, add about 1 teaspoon of the filling and 1 teaspoon into each potato shell. For broccoli and cheddar, add 1 teaspoon of broccoli and 1 teaspoon of cheddar into each potato shell. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper until light and fluffy. Carefully pour egg mixture over filling. If making both varieties, double the egg mixture. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm around the edges, but still wobbly in the middle. Let cool slightly and serve warm or at room temperature.
Caramelized onion and goat cheese quiche in a rectangular tin - perfect for dinner or lunch with a fresh green salad
Pesto Eggplant Brie Pizza with Truffle Oil
| August 31, 2011 | Filled under Italian, Main Dishes, Sauces & Dips, Vegetables |
On my way back from Montreal, I stopped by the airport bakery cafe MBCO where I always go to pick up a dozen Montreal style bagels for my dad. I love that bakery – it’s always full of lovely and tempting goodies including gorgeous fresh breads, sammies, and wraps. But what really caught my eye was the eggplant brie pesto pizza in the display. Of course, I had to pass and munched on my gluten free granola bars instead while longingly eying that pizza.
Inspired by the MBCO’s pizza, I went to WholeFoods in Toronto and picked up their ready to bake gluten free pizza crusts. I’ve never tried them before but thought I’d give it a go. Although I love making my own dough, sometimes convenience just wins out. The crusts are a tad on the thick side, but I’m a fan of super thin pizza crusts. The flavour is nice and it’s not too chewy or hard once baked. I’d definitely buy these again.
For the toppings I used my pesto recipe (you can also use store bought of course) and spooned a layer on the crust followed by the mushrooms. I grilled up a few slices of eggplant that were lightly brushed with olive oil and put those on with some thick slices of goat brie. I tossed it in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 degrees and voila – pizza pie. A bit of chopped flat leaf parsley added a nice freshness. The truffle oil is completely optional, but I love the taste of it on my pizza so I drizzled a few drops and some hot chili flakes before I gobbled it up. All I was missing was my hubby (who was on his way home but got stuck in Newark because of hurricaine Irene) and a glass of red wine. He made it home safely the next day and got to have the pizza for lunch. 
A note about tuffle oil – there are 2 kinds available, black and white. White truffle oil is more delicately flavoured and white truffles are harder to find so this variety is typically more expensive. I like the bold flavour of the black truffle oil which also happens to be a tad cheaper. The sticker shock of how pricey either variety is enough to jolt just about anyone (this bottle was $15USD back in Scottsdale) but you really only need a few drops on your pizza. D was not impressed when I went on a ‘save money’ kick and came home with the truffle oil claiming it would save us loads of money since we could stay home and enjoy truffle-y things instead of going to fancy restaurants. In the end I was right, but at the time, it was a tough sell.
This airport carry-on sized bottle should last you many meals and months if you use it sparingly. So if you like the flavour, I encourage you to splurge and treat yourself/your family and invest in a bottle. It’s still more cost effective than going out and buying anything in a restaurant that is ‘truffled’ and definitely gives the ‘wow’ factor to your homemade pizza/pasta/brushetta. D now enjoys it regularly on his pizza and our friends and family have been ‘wowed’ whenever we bust it out for them.
Mushroom Melt
| April 17, 2011 | Filled under Main Dishes, Salads, Soup & Sandwiches, Vegetables |
Back when J and I would work from our home office, we had the luxury of being able to cook our lunches. J’s specialty was the mushroom melt on a toast. So easy, delish, fast, and satisfying – you definitely don’t miss the meat in this vegetarian dish. Add a side salad and you have a nutritious and tasty lunch in about 15 minutes flat. Try this for lunch or even a light supper. Thanks J for making all those mushroom melts!
Thinly sliced mushrooms and shallots are the main ingredients in this sammie. Crimini, white, portobello mushrooms are all great options or you can be fancy and try wild mushrooms. You can also sub in any kind of onion in place of the shallots. The chives are a colourful fresh addition, or you could try flat leaf parsley. Add a GF bun and some cheese and you’re set. I got my GF buns from Chompie’s, a local AZ deli. Udi’s makes a GF hamburger bun that’s supposed to be pretty good, though I haven’t tried yet.
Recipe (makes 1 serving)
Gluten Free Mushroom Melt (Vegetarian)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 oz mozzerella cheese, grated or thinly sliced
- 1 tsp chives, finely sliced
- 1 gluten free hamburger bun, lightly toasted
- fresh greens (I used restaurant micro greens from Trader Joes – makes it feel fancy)
Heat the oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add the shallots and saute until softened, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and mix through. Turn heat down to low. Using a spatula, push the mushroom mixture into the middle of the pan to form a circle. Place cheese on top and place a lid on top of pan to help speed up melting the cheese. Once cheese is melted, remove pan from heat. Using a spatula, remove mushrooms from pan (try to get them all in one scoop) and place on bun. Add chives and fresh greens. Serve with a side salad (mine had radishes, cucumber, arugula and parsley in lemon vinegarette).
Back when J and I would work from our home office, we had the luxury of being able to cook our lunches. J’s specialty was the mushroom melt on a toast. So easy, delish, fast, and satisfying – you definitely don’t miss the meat in this vegetarian dish. Add a side salad and you have a nutritious and tasty lunch in about 15 minutes flat. Try this for lunch or even a light supper. Thanks J for making all those mushroom melts!
Thinly sliced mushrooms and shallots are the main ingredients in this sammie. Crimini, white, portobello mushrooms are all great options or you can be fancy and try wild mushrooms. You can also sub in any kind of onion in place of the shallots. The chives are a colourful fresh addition, or you could try flat leaf parsley. Add a GF bun and some cheese and you’re set. I got my GF buns from Chompie’s, a local AZ deli. Udi’s makes a GF hamburger bun that’s supposed to be pretty good, though I haven’t tried yet.
Recipe (makes 1 serving)
Gluten Free Mushroom Melt (Vegetarian)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 oz mozzerella cheese, grated or thinly sliced
- 1 tsp chives, finely sliced
- 1 gluten free hamburger bun, lightly toasted
- fresh greens (I used restaurant micro greens from Trader Joes – makes it feel fancy)
Heat the oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Add the shallots and saute until softened, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and mix through. Turn heat down to low. Using a spatula, push the mushroom mixture into the middle of the pan to form a circle. Place cheese on top and place a lid on top of pan to help speed up melting the cheese. Once cheese is melted, remove pan from heat. Using a spatula, remove mushrooms from pan (try to get them all in one scoop) and place on bun. Add chives and fresh greens. Serve with a side salad (mine had radishes, cucumber, arugula and parsley in lemon vinegarette).
Follow FreshNessGF